It was a good day to try the my recent quiver acquisition -- a 6'6 French
Fish board this morning. I think that now I have a complete set of boards to
choose from for various places and conditions. This morning the waves were
coming in 8 ft at 11 sec on a medium tide and so it was just the right
condition for trying out a new board... not so big and not so small.
This is actually the shortest board that I have ever be on. Up to this
purchase, the shortest was the 7'0. Surprisingly though the board was just
as comfortably paddling as the 7'6 hybrid that I normally ride. So I think I
am going to leave the 7'6 at home for a while and try to get used to this
board. The 7'6 also acquired a de-lamination on the top surface in the back
of the board where there is some good paint job, so I am going to take time
and figure out how to fix this.
The fish is a SurfTech epoxy construction so it is light, stiff and more
shutter proof than my fiberglass boards. At my stage of development, I feel
that a board being durable is the top reason for the choice because I know I
will put it though situations that experts won't. Plus I was very pleased
with the durability of the SurfTech 9'0. It still have not gotten any rail
dings.
But why I got this particular one? Because last summer I watched a group of
good people who were constantly catching and doing great maneuvers "inside"
and they all were on this type of board on smaller summer waves. For a short
board, it is extremely wide (21 inches in the middle), and chubby looking
and it is basically wide all the way to the tail. For me, I would prefer to
be a bit inside and catch a lot of small waves and practice than waiting for
a long long time for bigger waves outside.
Of course when I go to SC, I will bring my 9'0.
I am sure that I will be writing a lot more about it on upcoming wave logs.
But I got on a few waves but it is a strange feeling that the board takes
off rather gently... like almost being on a long board.
I cannot wait for tomorrow morning.
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